Barnum Museum: Building a 21st century museum from scratch

Updated 5:06 pm, Friday, August 28, 2015

Above is an artistic interpretation of what an exhibit might look like in a warehouse setting for the soon to be reconfigured and redesigned Barnum Museum.

Above is an artistic interpretation of what an exhibit might look like in a warehouse setting for the soon to be reconfigured and redesigned Barnum Museum.

Photo: Contributed Photo

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Above is an artistic interpretation of what the new theater might look like for the soon to be reconfigured and redesigned Barnum Museum.

Above is an artistic interpretation of what the new theater might look like for the soon to be reconfigured and redesigned Barnum Museum.

Photo: Contributed Photo

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Above is an artistic interpretation of what an exhibit could look like for the soon to be reconfigured and redesigned Barnum Museum.

Above is an artistic interpretation of what an exhibit could look like for the soon to be reconfigured and redesigned Barnum Museum.

Photo: Contributed Photo

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Above is an artistic interpretation of the Grand Salon in the re-designed, “re-imagined” Barnum Museum in Bridgeport.

Above is an artistic interpretation of the Grand Salon in the re-designed, “re-imagined” Barnum Museum in Bridgeport.

Photo: Contributed Photo

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Above is an artistic interpretation of an exhibit devoted to Swedish Soprano Jenny Lind, whose 1850 tour of the United States was promoted by P.T. Barnum. It’s for the new Barnum Museum in Bridgeport.

Above is an artistic interpretation of an exhibit devoted to Swedish Soprano Jenny Lind, whose 1850 tour of the United States was promoted by P.T. Barnum. It’s for the new Barnum Museum in Bridgeport.

Photo: Contributed Photo

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Above is an artistic representation of an exhibit depicting P.T. Barnum’s creation of the “Greatest Show on Earth” for the “re-imagined” Barnum Museum in Bridgeport.

Above is an artistic representation of an exhibit depicting P.T. Barnum’s creation of the “Greatest Show on Earth” for the “re-imagined” Barnum Museum in Bridgeport.

Photo: Contributed Photo

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Above is an artistic representation of an exhibit on P.T. Barnum for the “re-imagined” Barnum Museum in Bridgeport.

Above is an artistic representation of an exhibit on P.T. Barnum for the “re-imagined” Barnum Museum in Bridgeport.

Photo: Contributed Photo

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Above is an artistic representation of P.T. Barnum’s American Museum, then in New York, for the “re-imagined” Barnum Museum in Bridgeport.

Above is an artistic representation of P.T. Barnum’s American Museum, then in New York, for the “re-imagined” Barnum Museum in Bridgeport.

Photo: Contributed Photo

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Barnum Museum: Building a 21st century museum from scratch

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Lots of people think they know lots about P.T. Barnum’s life and legacy.

Most don’t.

Even though the international entertainment entrepreneur was born in Bethel and adopted Bridgeport as his own, his extraordinary contributions have largely been ignored, said Kathleen Maher, executive director of the Barnum Museum in Bridgeport.

Folks may know he was instrumental in creating the circus known as “The Greatest Show on Earth” and promoting Swedish singing sensation Jenny Lind on her 1850 tour of America. Beyond that, few people have any grasp of his impact on modern American life or his millions of dollars in contributions to various causes and charities, Maher said.

“But in many ways, P.T. Barnum was thrown under the bus” by contemporary society, which often dismisses him as a huckster and greedy businessman. Rather, he is the father of modern advertising and the entrepreneur responsible for introducing America to the concept of “popular entertainment.”

His image will change, Maher said, with the creation of the new Barnum Museum within the iconic domed building, on the National Register of Historic Places, on Main Street. As the building’s exterior and structure are being renovated and restored, plans are underway to completely reconfigure and “re-imagine” the interior using cutting-edge technology and modern exhibit techniques.

For the “re-imagining,” Maher said the museum turned to an international company: BRC Imagination Arts, with offices in Burbank, Calif., England and the Netherlands.

The company was founded by Bob Rogers, one of the original Disney/Epcot “imagineers,” who believes the museum has the potential to become a national and international destination, creating enormous economic impact on the region, she said. Among his projects have been the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, in Springfield, Ill., several museums and visitor centers for NASA and Experience Heineken in Amsterdam.

BRC has recently completed the museum’s preliminary “vision” book for its complete redo and produced a video that outlines many of the possibilities being considered. Soon to be used in a major fundraising campaign, the video is on YouTube: http://bit.ly/1gE5ehd

Although the museum is owned by the city, it is administered by a nonprofit foundation, which is allowed by law to solicit funds through both public and private means. Although most museums renovate their physical plants and redo their interiors following years of behind-the-scenes planning and fundraising, the Barnum Museum was not so fortunate.

The impetus for its redo was the freak tornado that hit the museum on June 24, 2010, at 2:14 p.m., which caused horrendous destruction to both the building and its collections. Most of the museum has been closed to the public since then. (The museum does host lectures and temporary exhibits from time to time in its modern People’s United Gallery, which is attached to the bank complex and was unaffected by the storm.)

Maher said she is gratified that “after a period of planning and securing preliminary funding, the historic museum is returning to structural health. Far from a quick fix, the building is becoming stronger and more sound than it has been for decades. It will also be able to survive future hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards and other unforeseen violent weather.”

Now that the preliminary plan has been completed, the next step is an Interpretive Master Plan, in which all the needed parties — architects, engineers (mechanical, structural and electrical), exhibit designers, artists and fabricators, state and local officials, including representatives of state’s Historic Preservation Office, and museum personnel — must bang out details and create a budget and fundraising goals.

It is hoped that the new museum will boast a theater and several evocative settings, such as a warehouse, grand salon and circus.

“The new museum will be at the same time entertaining, educational, bold and brash in true Barnum style,” she said. “BRC is known for its story-telling expertise, and providing an experience that encourages visitors to get emotionally and intellectually connected.

“We want to make Barnum human, to tell his story in a way that gives visitors an understanding of his impact on the world that extends to this very day.”

The museum will become “home to an extraordinary story demonstrating the enduring power of the American Dream” with Barnum’s many failures and triumphs explored, “as well as a magnet for visitors from across the U.S. and throughout the world.” It will offer “a new kind of experience designed for a new kind of audience,” she added.